Extended rain spell continues to shore up area lake levels

Eric J. Shelton/Reporter-News
Tristen Thompson, 9, plays in a puddle of water at Santos and 3rd Street on Tuesday, July 16, 2013. According to the Abilene Homeland Security, 2-4 more inches of rain is expected in the week.

Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News
Jake Garrison fishes beneath a bridge crossing Elm Creek near Lake Fort Phantom Hill Tuesday, July 16, 2013. Garrison said he lost his mother Connie and his job on Monday, he and his wife Kaylie went fishing to give their minds a break. "It's better than going drinkin' and druggin'," he said.$RETURN$$RETURN$

Abilene Reporter-News

Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News
The weight of an insect bends a flower over a puddle near the spillway Tuesday at Lake Fort Phantom Hill, July 16, 2013.$RETURN$$RETURN$

Abilene Reporter-News

Eric J. Shelton/Reporter-News
Kayli Strong, 16, walks down the 1400 block of North 11th Street on a rainy Tuesday morning, July 16, 2013. According to the National Weather service, a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms are expected for today's forecast.

Heavy rainfall in the Big Country over the last several days has bolstered levels of crucial area lakes and reservoirs, and they are expected to rise even more through today.

Lake Fort Phantom Hill — from which Abilene gets much of its water — didn't see the biggest gains in the area, but the lake did see about a 6/10 of an foot gain as of late Tuesday afternoon.

"We'd sure like to see a lot more, but that's a good start," said Rodney Taylor, assistant director of water utilities for the city of Abilene.

The lake stands a chance of even bigger increases if enough water flows into the Clear Fork Brazos River. Periodically, Abilene is allowed to "scalp" the river's water, meaning it pumps the water into the lake through a pipeline.

As of Tuesday evening, no scalping had occurred. Lake Fort Phantom Hill is currently 46.5 percent full.

Levels at Ivie Reservoir, another important source of water for the city, have risen about half a foot since Sunday.

John Grant, general manager at the Colorado River Municipal Water Authority, said the increase is encouraging, but the lake still sits at a meager 17.2 percent of its capacity.

Grant said the lake could have seen much bigger gains had the rain fallen a bit farther to the west in key watershed areas of Runnels, Concho and Coke counties.

Still, he recognizes that any summer rainfall should be appreciated. July, after all, is on average the driest month of the year in the area.

Chris Wingert, the general manager of West Central Texas Municipal Water District, said Hubbard Creek Reservoir had almost cleared a foot in gains by Tuesday afternoon, and he . He predicted another half-foot gain by today.

"It's the biggest increase we've seen in a while and it couldn't have come at a better time," Wingert said.

Hubbard Creek now sits near 25 percent capacity.

For Lake Brownwood, which is owned and managed by the Brown County Water Improvement District, rain fell exactly where it needed to — into Pecan Bayou and Jim Ned Creek, both of which feed the lake with runoff.

Dennis Spinks, the general manager of the district, said the lake had risen by about a foot since rainstorms began working their way through the area Sunday.

"It looks pretty good right now. We should still see a significant rise on the lake," Spinks said. "Taking evaporation into consideration, that's three or four months' supply of water."